i3 - January/February 2019 - 75

By Bronwyn Flores

Policy

P O L I CY N E WS

CTA and EVERFI Partner to Boost
Future Entrepreneurs

lthough CES is open
only to attendees 18
years of age and older,
each year CTA invites local
Las Vegas-area high school
students to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges
and develop critical skills as
future entrepreneurs.

Three teams with varying ideas that
help solve key problems, especially
among millenials, will present the following pitches: Moneybyte is a financial management app for teenagers
and connects to a wearable bracelet;
Aver is a device that prevents cybersecurity attacks; and GamerCool is a
chair that keeps gamers cool during
epic online battles.
To get to the contest's final round,
the Las Vegas students completed the
Future Innovators entrepreneurship
program, powered by education technology provider EVERFI and sponsored by CTA.
Exposure to entrepreneurship and
simulated business learning is traditionally introduced at the college level.
But by teaching entrepreneurship earlier, CTA's Future Innovators program
is helping a younger generation - who
may choose to forgo the traditional,
four-year college route for the chance
to become entrepreneurs at an earlier
age. Since its 2015 launch, CTA's
Future Innovators program has
reached more than 5,100 Clark County
students in nearly 100 classrooms -
two-thirds of which are in low-tomoderate income schools.
With the future of U.S. jobs in mind
and the best ways to train America
workers for new roles in many of today's
conversations, it's important to note not
just what the Future Innovators
C TA . t e c h / i 3

program does, but how it does it. Using
EVERFI's customized gaming technology, the digital entrepreneurship courses
teach high school students how to start
and run their own business. Students
simulate starting a food truck business,
which then teaches them how to conduct market research; create business
and marketing plans; draft a budget;
make informed decisions about hiring;
and pitch to potential investors. By the
end, each student has completed an
e-Portfolio - a dynamic, visual representation of their business plan and personal career goals.
The program thrives at creating a
hands-on experience blended with
compelling digital content that resonates especially well with how younger
audiences take in new information. At

the same time, it mimics real-world
scenarios all too familiar for many of
the startups you see in Eureka Park at
CES - CES' dedicated area for small
businesses. It's no easy task to pitch a
business plan to a panel of judges
comprised of established CTA member companies and prominent technology leaders.
The goal of the program is to spark
entrepreneurial curiosity. Whether
these students go on to become CEOs,
graphic designers or sales representatives, they're identifying opportunities,
asking critical questions and working
towards set objectives or life skills
which extend beyond technology.

2019

CES 2019 See the EverFi competition
at CES.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

http://www.CES.tech https://www.cta.tech/

i3 - January/February 2019

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